“So, you have become your master’s lover? It’s difficult for me to imagine Flavius searching for love in your bed. What kind of person is your new mistress?”
“Impossible to please, full of herself, and extremely jealous. It does not look so good, does it?”
“I’m sorry to hear that, and no, it doesn’t. Are you punished often?” Cassandra caressed his face.
“She loves to punish all of us. I can’t say whether she hates me more than the others; I have cold chills when she looks or speaks to me. With Flavius away, I fear her wrath even when she is not around.”
“Maybe this can change your mood.” She smiled and kissed him.
Her kisses were more than he needed to feel like he did in old times when punishments were something fully deserved and rare, when he felt protected by his Masters, and his life wasn’t hell on Earth.
They kissed for a long time, not thinking about anything other than what they felt in their hearts, forgetting slavery, pain, humiliation, and submission. The two of them were in a world made only for them.
He parted from her and smiled bitterly, knowing that the time reserved for them would end soon. “I am wondering whether our mistresses can forget about us, and we can remain here for a longer time,” he wished.
“Maybe we should return to the garden. Will I see you again?”
“I don’t know, I wish I could return to living with you,” Saul admitted, walking hand in hand to the porch.
When they saw that Flaminia and Claudia were still talking, they sat in a far corner of the garden to remain in sight, and continued to talk in low voices as people in love do.
Caius looked out the window twisting his fingers from under the robe. Finally, he saw his friend in the distance. He was disappointed his associate’s return had been delayed. He worried that something might have gone bad.
He met the man outside so Flavius couldn’t overhear what they said.
“What took so long? I was worried,” he yelled.
“Calm down. Everything is fine.”
“So, what is the news? Can we release him?”
“No. She asked us to keep him here for two weeks, then bring him back. She still needs some time, she said.”
Caius looked at him, surprised. “Are you crazy? We can’t keep him for such a long time.” He lowered his voice. “He is already suspicious. We can’t risk him figuring out the entire plot.” He raised his hands to his head, wondering what was going on with Claudia.
“We don’t have to answer his questions.”
Peeking through the window, he said, “It seems you found an effective way to make him shut up.”
“Why don’t you go to Rome, go to a tavern, get some decent food, a girl, and then come back? I know how to take care of our guest,” he placed his hand on his shoulder.
Caius decided to take advantage of the offer.
“Fine. I’ll be back in a couple of days,” Caius replied, walking to the horses.
The other man smiled and walked inside the house where Flavius waited, gagged and tied to the wall. He took a seat in a chair near the window. “I see you have been quite noisy in my absence. I won’t remove your gag except to feed you. You are going to be our guest for as long as it takes for your family to pay the ransom. The time depends exclusively on them. That is all you need to know for now.”
Flavius looked at him. “Hmmm!”
“I don’t like your tone. Off with that attitude. Nothing is going to change your situation.”
The man chuckled.
Flavius thought about his slaves; they were all dead, and he was alone in a strange place, far from home.
He knew he was kidnapped by cold-blooded assassins and, if he cared to see his family again, he should do what they said, hoping that Claudia would pay them.
He tried to calm down, to sleep a bit as his nights hadn’t been the quietest ones, with nightmares cursing his sleep and nocturnal animals breaking the silence.
After a long silence, his jailer stood up. “Are you hungry?”
Flavius nodded.
“Good. If you promise not to say a word, I will remove the gag and let you eat something.”
Flavius nodded again.
“It seems like you are coming back to reason.” He handed him bread and dried meat releasing his hands.
Flavius eagerly consumed all that was offered to him. He felt as if he hadn’t eaten for days rather than hours. The dry meat tasted better than he could remember.
Flavius wanted to ask what his family had said and get hints as to who his captors were, and why did they kidnap him. Nothing was making any sense, but he learned not to ask too much. As a matter of fact, he learned not to speak at all, if not so requested. Maybe this is how a slave feels.
“When will you release me?” Flavius mumbled.
“As soon as we get the money.”
“With whom did you speak about the ransom?” he dared to ask.
“With your family. Now stop asking questions, or I’ll gag you again.”
“Who in my family?”
The man glared at him. “Now I know why my mate gagged you. You are as annoying as a flea.”
“Who did you deal with?” he insisted, but his requests were destined to be short-lived as the man came close, then gagged him and tied his hands behind his back.
“Shh.”
Flavius again felt completely hopeless. It seemed impossible to do as they told him to, and he couldn’t avoid asking questions to work through his situation,
His thoughts returned to his home, and to Saul; he wondered how he was dealing with his delayed return.
Flavius wasn’t afraid of what could have happened to Claudia, for she was a strong woman and could count on their families' support during his absence.
He wasn’t certain whether she missed him at all, or perhaps he underestimated her feelings. She had been jealous of his nights spent with Saul. He felt confused about her jealousy and desired nothing more but to go back home or wake up to realize that he had been dreaming.
Flaminia left Claudia’s house, pleased to see everything was going well. Also, she was happy to see Cassandra reunited with Saul, even though it as only for a few hours.
She pondered the delayed return of her son. It was true that a couple of days were to be considered a normal delay, but still, something did not quite fit in the entire situation, and Saul looked as if something was worrying him.
“Cassandra, what do you think about Saul? Did you sense there was something strange?” Flaminia asked as they arrived home.
“I do not know, Mistress. What do you mean?” She tried to hide what she knew about Saul’s feelings toward both Flavius and Claudia.
“Saul seemed concerned as if he was worried or afraid. Did he tell you anything I should know.?
“He was concerned that his Master had not yet returned. I suppose this was what bothered him the most. I understood he is very affectionate with your son, Mistress.”
Flaminia didn’t seem convinced. “And nothing else? What did you talk about when you left Claudia and me?” she asked.
At that question, Cassandra blushed. They didn’t talk much of the time. “We talked about general things. He asked me about you and Master Marcus Tiberius, and we talked about Master Flavius and his wife, but in very general terms,” she said, looking down.
Flaminia smiled. “I see. Maybe I am wrong. I just hope Flavius will be home soon.”
Claudia walked nervously to the room where Saul was still working. “You can’t keep your place, slave, can you?” she hissed.
Saul looked at her, trying to understand what she meant. “Mistress, I don’t…” he mumbled.
“Don’t even dare. Again, you forgot your place, overshadowing me with Flaminia. It looked like she only came to see you instead of me. You left your duties to intrude between my guest and me,” she yelled.